Monday 14 April 2014

Milan's 4th win in a row leaves potential of arrow pointing up for Seedorf's Rossoneri


In the build up to Milan's late-March win over Lazio, rumours were rife.

After a galling loss to Roberto Donadoni's Parma, where four goals were sent past a typically hapless Milan defence, many were wondering what the difference was between the cast-off Massimiliano Allegri and his shiny new Dutch successor.

With all the promises of Seedorf's charisma turning around the sinking Milan ship and directing it toward the treasure island of European qualification, four straight losses followed including an embarrassing 4-1 loss to Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid that ended the Rossoneri's European adventure.

"This is not a team," former Milan coach raged Arrigo Sacchi raged following the loss.

The criticism didn't end there.

Club hero Paolo Maldini told Gazzetta dello Sport that Milan director Adriano Galliani felt "omnipotent" while the decline of one of the more graceful and respected European giants left him with a "mixture of anger and disappointment."

His sentiment was shared by fans and pundits alike, which seemed to be mirrored by the increasingly desperate members of the club's board.

Milan dropped out of the top 10 in the Serie A league table and whispers that Seedorf could be ousted after just two months on the sideline at San Siro were growing louder.

As the Milan players lined up to take on Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico, Gazzetta dello Sport reported that the match against the Roman side and the following one against Fiorentina would be Seedorf's last two games to save his job. Mauro Tassotti, long-time assistant coach would takeover for the rest of the season before Filippo Inzaghi, Cesare Prandelli or Roberto Donadoni - somewhat appropriately considering it was his Parma that so convincingly downed Milan - would be the next man up.

While the hiring of a rookie coach over another one would appear vastly redundant - perhaps the bringing in of an experienced tactician would've been the best idea to begin with.

That idea however appears, for now at least, to be in the rear-view mirror. The reason for that is that since Italian dailies screamed of unrest, Seedorf has led his squad to four successive victories in Serie A that now leave Milan eighth, level with high flying Torino and just a three points away from the Parma side that so convincingly beat them in mid-March.

There is still a window open for a late Europa League push (although the long-term benefit of said push is yet to be determined - that's an article for a different day) which in itself is an impressive feat. Europe seemed out of the question as Milan were slipping into free-fall a month ago, but is now one of the possible outcomes that could follow the season's conclusion.

While not displaying the vibrant attacking football that was once so often associated with Milan in years gone by, the Rossoneri have created chances, converted them and - crucially considering previous defensive issues - conceded just one goal.

13 points earned in five games, second only to Roma during the same period.

For now, the arrow is pointing up for Clarence Seedorf and his Milan side.













1 comment:

  1. Typos alot of them. A very safe article that doesn't tell the up to date milan fan anything he doesn't already know. Good despite all its short comings.

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